This clicks on so many levels for me. A) I like Anya-Spike sniping. B) I like Spike the somewhat abrasive caretaker. C) I like Dawn still grappling with her identity. So, you know, in general, me likey.

Yeah. I was definitely trying for a balance between the silliness and the kill-you-dead-angst, lurking in the shadows and waiting to pounce. So, I'm especially glad to know that's what you got out of it. :)

Oh, oh, oh! That ending. You kill me. I love your Dawn. I love your Spike. I love your Anya. And all of them together? With the beginning all silly but with that hint of sadness with the mattering and then the gut-punch at the end? Fabulous.

Oh, you make me so happy with your comments! This was all exactly what I was trying to do - the tension between silly and tragic, the final angst of all the things Dawn is surely thinking of when she says that. Plus the collection of the three of them, all oddballs (as Emmie pointed out in her prompt), both socially and mystically.